True Vine
I just came in from breakfast on our Tuscan terrace, a special spot I designed and had built following an inspirational trip to Florence five years ago. The Tuscany region of Italy is scattered with lush vineyards. Wanting to recreate the charm of the Florentine countryside, I purchased and planted five young grapevines. As instructed, […]
Star
Apples are September’s stars. Harvest has begun. Our orchard, not yet mature enough to bear fruit, still grows strong. Newtown Pippins, planted by Jefferson at Monticello, neighbor Northern Spys, Cortlands, and Winesaps. We planted each by hand—staking, watering, wrapping, snow fencing. Now we watch and wait. This September, a local orchard fills our apple baskets […]
In Step
We teach respect and good manners to our kids and our animals. Disrespectful kids often turn into disrespectful adults. Disrespectful horses turn into dangerous horses. With horses, respect and manners are essential because they weigh about 1,000 pounds and I weigh—well, considerably less. If horses get pushy, people get hurt. Since safety is always first […]
Broken
Cleaning up after dinner, I carefully hand wash my favorite platter in Ivory suds. Years ago, I found this creamy, ceramic oval embossed with fruits and vines. This platter has been on every Christmas buffet in our home for more years than I can remember. After the final rinse, I place the platter on end, […]
BLT Lettuce
Dinner tonight will mark the end of our three-nights-in-a-row BLT run. Fortunately, our family loves them. I’m using this common sandwich as an object lesson. Call it our nightly devotion. First, they learned that wife and mother is a slab of bacon. Next, they learned I am a tomato. Tonight, it’s lettuce. I think they’re […]
BLT Tomato
There is so much to learn from BLT sandwiches that I have to break apart the ingredients and discuss each one separately. Yesterday, I was bacon. Today, I am tomato. Now that I see how God uses heat to remove fat in the fry pan of life, I can move on to the knife. One […]
BLT Bacon
When I think Wisconsin farms, I think cows and pigs and horses and . . . . llamas. Yes, we do have some Peruvian imports nearby. It’s hard for me to be a vegetarian with all this tasty meat grown right here—well, the cows and pigs, that is. On the other hand, it’s hard NOT […]
Fences
He did it again! Mr. Teenager, Nick, is really getting into my blog brain. The other day, as I was serving breakfast to our horses, Nick strolled into the barn and said, “Mom, I have another blog idea for you.” I smile. Clearly, Nick is beginning to see his world in a whole new way. […]